alcohol

Kara Bonham was already struggling with alcohol consumption, depression and anxiety when the pandemic forced her life into overdrive.

She had a high-stress job as a first responder in Fort Collins; on top of that, her older sister, who also struggles with alcohol, had recently been diagnosed with end-stage liver failure.

As Bonham saw it, her options were to continue drinking alone in her apartment—an easy decision, she notes, because liquor stores were still open—“or I could make the decision to pursue recovery and make it a very serious, lifelong decision,” she says.